The Dirtiest Fruits And Veggies

Do you ever want to just grab a piece of fruit or some veggies and run out the door?

You better take the time to wash them first!

Our fears are correct: fruits and vegetables are the dirties mofos in the stores! Scary!

Here's the list of the worst offenders:

APPLES
CELERY
BELL PEPPERS
PEACHES
STRAWBERRIES
NECTARINES
GRAPES
SPINACH
CUCUMBERS
BLUEBERRIES
POTATOES
LEAFY GREENS
GREEN BEANS

Couple this with the fact that the average American eats over 100 pounds of fresh produce a year, that shizz is nasty!

Unless you clean them, of course!

Here's what the EWG (the non-profit that does the testing) president has to say:

“The explosive growth in market share for organic produce in recent years testifies to a simple fact that pesticide companies and the farmers who use their products just can’t seem to grasp: people don’t like to eat food contaminated by pesticides. Our shopper’s guide to pesticides in produce gives consumers easy, affordable ways to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables while avoiding most of the bug killers, fungicides and other chemicals in produce and other foods.

“This year’s guide will also give new parents pause. Government scientists have found disturbing concentrations of pesticides in some baby foods. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found weed killers widespread in finished tap water. Environmentalists have had important successes in forcing pesticides that presented unacceptably high dietary risks off the market. The latest USDA tests show we have much more work to do.”

One of the better solutions to this would be to buy your produce locally, from farms that do not use pesticides!

In the end, though, this is less about something you're doing wrong as a consumer, and more about the producers using harmful products to get bigger bounties.

Though, we could be speaking louder about it!!

[Image via AP Images.]

Tags: america, better, diet, environment, food, fruit, government, green, organic, parents, people, pounds, scary, success, vegetables, veggies